• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

POTW Pokémon of the Week #97: Starly, Staravia and Staraptor

Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Messages
44,662
Reaction score
44,113
In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every week, we will be focusing on a single one of these Pokémon or evolutionary lines and talking about what makes it special. This week's Pokémon of choice are Starly, Staravia and Staraptor!

20091223224016%21396Starly.png

20101105202736%21397Staravia.png

20101029193921%21398Staraptor.png

Starly and its evolutions are a family of Normal/Flying type Pokémon that were introduced in Generation IV, and are the early-game “regional birds” of Sinnoh. The Starly line is mainly based off of starlings, with Staraptor in particular also drawing inspiration from birds of prey. These regional birds have primarily grayish-brown plumage with black and white details, and in the case of Staraptor, red feathers tipping the sharp-looking crest on its head. In fact, as Starly evolves, it progresses from a more cutesy, round, and somewhat dopey-eyed look to a sharper appearance overall, Staravia bridging the gap nicely with a slightly taller build and curlier head tuft than Starly. The round marking directly above a female Starly’s face is slightly smaller than that of a male Starly; this subtle gender difference, one of many that were introduced with the Generation IV games, is carried on to Starly’s evolved forms. Starly are known to flock together in great numbers and flap their wings powerfully to compensate for their small size; however, they leave the flock to live alone when they become fully evolved Staraptor. Staraptor are especially brave and will easily take on foes much bigger than themselves. One more notable feature of Starly is its noisy chirping cry. In the video games, this cry becomes a sort of trill when Starly evolves into Staravia at level 14, and then a robust screech when it evolves again into Staraptor at level 34.

Being Sinnoh’s regional bird, the Starly line was shown frequently in the Gen IV anime. One notable member of this family was caught by Ash Ketchum as a Starly and raised into a Staraptor over the course of the series, becoming Ash’s main aerial Pokémon during his Sinnoh journey.

But why should you consider having a Staraptor on your team? A trainer looking for a speedy physical attacker might find Staraptor handy. Staraptor has access to the high power Fighting-type move Close Combat, an excellent coverage option that hits hard against many types in exchange for drops in each of Staraptor’s already mediocre defensive stats. Staraptor can make itself harder to break physically by lowering the foe’s Attack with its regular ability, Intimidate. However, if a trainer opts to run Staraptor with its hidden ability, Reckless, they can instead bolster the power of Staraptor’s already powerful STAB recoil moves, Brave Bird and Double-Edge. Just watch Staraptor’s health if you do this, as dealing more damage with these moves causes Staraptor to take more recoil damage itself. Luckily, Roost is a viable recovery option that Staraptor can also utilize. Staraptor can even function as a team’s hazard remover with Defog. Being airborne, Staraptor can harmlessly switch into Spikes and Toxic Spikes — but beware of Stealth Rock.

Staraptor also has a notable role to fill in the Pokémon Ranger side games introduced during Generation IV, those being Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. In these games, Staraptor is the only Pokémon capable of assisting the player with the Field Move known as Fly, which works much the same way as the HM move of the same name in the core series games. The player can ride Staraptor to previously visited areas once Staraptor can be captured. Staraptor will also begin spawning in locations visited earlier on when the player is able to do so, making transportation around the Almia or Oblivia region that much easier.

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

◦ Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
◦ How is this Pokémon in-game?
◦ How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
◦ Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
◦ How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
◦ If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
◦ Are subtle Pokémon gender differences like Starly’s interesting or pointless in your opinion?
◦ Are regular-looking birds a silly inclusion in the Pokémon world, or does Staraptor prove the contrary?

Thanks to @Gengarzilla, @CynthiaLover, and @PkmnTrainerV for suggesting this Pokémon of the Week!

If you have any suggestions for Pokémon you'd like to discuss in the future just leave your ideas at the bottom of your post. Make sure you give your thoughts about the current Pokémon first!


Previous Pokémon of the Week:
 
◦ Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Love it. Staraptor is one of my frequent entries when I play competitive. Also, I always pick Staraptor for my Sinnoh team if I ever replay DPPt. Plus the design is cool.

◦ How is this Pokémon in-game?
Solid. It has nice attack and speed, so it can act as an ace in the early part of the games + Intimidate works well. Close Combat and Brave Bird overkills a lot in the late parts of the games. Actually, it is hard not to rely on Staravia/Staraptor.

◦ How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Staraptor has won a lot of battles for me even though I'm not really good at competitive. A suggestion from Bulbagarden Battle forums worked best for me: Reckless, Choice Band, Double-Edge, Brave Bird, Close Combat, and U-Turn.
Brilliant.
 
I like them and they have cute designs. I've never used them in battle because I've never played a Sinnoh region game. I remember seeing Starly and Staravia in the anime but this was a long time ago and I don't remember the battles really well but I do remember liking them. I can't tell the difference between the genders and regular looking birds don't look silly to me.
 
My favorite bird Pokémon from my favorite gen/region. I always have a Staraptor in my team whenever I can, especially when I replay Platinum. Plus their designs, especially Staraptor's, are my favorite of all the bird Pokémon so far.
 
Starly and Staravia are appealing to the eyes compared to Pidgey and Pidgeotto, but they look kinda boring. Staraptor, on the other hand...looks kinda silly compared to modern designs, but showed that a regional bird could be cool enough to be in everyone's team and to be a reliable team member, so it's not hard to see why it's popular.

I think Fletching & co. greatly improved their concepts, but they give me nostalgia on the DP days, so they're not bad.
 
Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Yes, I like it. At first I was neutral to it, as it was yet another Normal/Flying Mon. However, after using one, I realized just how powerful and useful this bird is. It's now ranked as my top favorite early route bird.
How is this Pokémon in-game?
Very useful and fairly versatile. While it's movepool is still fairly shallow overall (which seems to be the norm for bird Mons), the fact it can learn some of the most powerful and flexible moves, such as Close Combat, Roost, and U-Turn, make this feathered fighter a force to be reckoned with. It has become a staple for my Platinum runs, as it packs a large wallop and is quite dependable.
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Never do competitive play, so I wouldn't know. I do know about the whole Reckless/Brave Bird/Double Edge routine, but since I know nothing about meta (and I don't intend to start now), I wouldn't really know just how powerful this line can be.
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
Ash's Staraptor was definitely one of his better birds. He was the one who actually scored Ash's first win against Paul during the almost cliche Poke Ringer tournament, something that Ash really needed at that point. He didn't have the same track record as Swellow did, but Staraptor still proved his worth, and proved it well.
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
As a Starly, it might act like most pigeons would. Staravia might be the same way, though it might be a bit more aggressive. While Staraptor would be a dominate aerial predator akin to most birds of prey (and judging by its size, I doubt even pet dogs and cats would stand a chance against it).
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Not a whole lot, if anything. Starly and its evos set the bar pretty high in terms of power and speed for bird Mons. Maybe beef up its defenses a bit more, so the drops from Close Combat won't turn him into a very fragile speedster. Maybe raise its HP a bit more so it can cushion those heavy recoil moves better. But other than that, I'd say the line is pretty good.
Are subtle Pokémon gender differences like Starly’s interesting or pointless in your opinion?
Sometimes subtle is nice when it comes to gender differences. Most real life birds (like raptors, parakeets, and so on) often have very subtle differences in gender, so it's not a bad concept to include. I don't mind drastic differences either, but sometimes subtle is rather nice. So I'm okay with that.
Are regular-looking birds a silly inclusion in the Pokémon world, or does Staraptor prove the contrary?
Not really. It helps show off the inspiration of the Mon in question and allows one to see how similar, yet different, it looks to real life counterparts. While Staraptor doesn't have the almost trademark hooked beak that most predatory birds have (and it IS called the "Predator Pokemon," after all), it's still looks just fine otherwise. So I'm okay with rather regular-looking birds and such in the Poke-universe. After all, not every Mon needs to be adorned with outrageous designs and add-ons, so it's fine to me.
 
Starly looks goofy, but Staraptor is easily my favourite fully evolved regional bird of all time, Not only does it look cool, it also gets the incredibly useful Close Combat naturally and learns Brave Bird and Double-Edge (although the latter is an egg move). I've always raised this Pokemon in every playthrough of the Sinnoh games, not just because it learns Fly and Defog, but because Intimidate is very helpful and Flying attacks have great coverage with Close Combat.
Ash's Staraptor was somewhat disappointing in the anime, especially in the Sinnoh League, which is a shame, as his moveset was pretty decent by Pokemon anime standards.
 
The Sinnoh portion of Gen IV was definitely my "off" generation, and the whole Starly line is sort of a microcosm of my view of Sinnoh's species as a whole: underwhelming.

... This isn't to say I didn't have the regional bird on my Platinum team anyway or anything, but Staraptor just doesn't appeal to me. It's ... okay, I guess? Yes, I hear it hits like a speeding truck, but I also already had a Fighting-type resident team member in Platinum (hello, Lucario) so the bird didn't exactly offer much utility for me outside of its native Flying type.

...plus, Roost was a consumable TM in Gen IV :( and later gens see him overshadowed by my other favorite birds...
 
Please note: The thread is from 6 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom